The Corp Book Co-op will begin transitioning its services online Tuesday, allowing students to electronically sell back textbooks as the semester comes to a close.

Emily Betson (SFS ’07), director of the Co-op, said that the Corp will store the books it receives over the summer. They will then be available for students to purchase through the Web site at the start of the fall semester.

Betson said that the online service will be more convenient than other online book stores because students will be able to receive their books within hours of purchase.

Jillian Duran (COL ’07), the Co-op’s previous director and current chief operating officer of the Corp, said that the Corp has been working to implement the new service system since September. She said that, although the service is not expected to bring the student-run corporation any additional profits, it will provide better services to students wishing to buy and sell used books.

“[We thought about] what is it that we can give to students . what will serve them better,” she said.

Duran added that the services would ease the current student burden of high textbook costs, saying that it is “expensive and unfair” for the Georgetown bookstore to monopolize the sale of books.

“We think that it’s important for students to get books cheaper than the bookstore,” she said. “This was our chance to provide even better [services] for customers to use.”

Cliff Ewert, the vice president of campus relations for the Follett Higher Education Group, the corporation that operates the university bookstore in the Leavey Center, said that students will continue to shop at the bookstore and use its online services because they provide a wider selection of the books that are required for classes.

“We do not `cherry pick’ popular titles, but provide one-stop shopping by providing everything that is needed to support a course,” he said.

But the Corp’s Director of Marketing Piya Radia (MSB ’09) said that the Book Co-op’s online Web site would provide a cheap alternative for students wishing to avoid “skyrocketing” textbook prices, in addition to providing students with an efficient and customer-friendly shopping service.

“We are coming out with a much better product and I think we will do better,” she said.

Sandra Kim (COL ’09), who said that she has never used the Book Co-op before, said that the Web site is a good idea, but added that she would only be interested in using it if it is simple and efficient.

“It depends on the efficiency and user-friendliness of the system with which we are supposed to register our used books or buy used books,” Kim said.